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A mess of cars in Staten Island's Castleton Corners neighborhood

Shore Photos -- August 21, 2013

“They block traffic. It causes people coming down the road to go on the other side of the road,” says resident Nadine Brown, who watches drivers who work at the Clove Lakes Rehabilitation Center, Castleton Corners, wait for spots on weekdays, usually around 3 p.m., when shifts change.
(Staten Island Advance/Mark Stein)

It’s a familiar tale on Staten Island, and one often told in Brooklyn, where folks drive in circles hunting for precious spots.

On Fanning Street, near Clove Lakes Health Care and Rehabilitation Center in Castleton Corners, residents and nursing facility employees are expressing frustration with parking conditions on the street.

Neighbors say Clove Lakes employees sit in their double-parked cars waiting for a spot to open up. Employees say they wouldn’t have to do this, if they could just park in the facility’s parking lot.

“They block traffic. It causes people coming down the road to go on the other side of the road,” said Nadine Brown, who watches drivers who work at the nursing home waiting for spots Monday through Friday, usually around 3 p.m., when shifts change.

She fears a head-on collision. Sometimes, said Ms. Brown, driveways are blocked. It’s a complete nuisance.

When Ms. Brown approaches employees, they apologize and continue to block the road, she said, adding that up to six cars sometimes clog Fanning.

Ms. Brown stated similar complaints in a Letter to the Editor published earlier this month in the Advance.

“We’re used to it,” said Pei Min, who lives a few houses from the facility on Fanning, noting the road is wide enough for other motorists to navigate.

“It’s just for a few minutes. But if you live here, people are in the way.”

Min noted he’s also spotted visitors occupying spots, even though they’re allowed to park in the facility’s lot, unlike most of its employees.

Jose Guzman, a resident who lives across from the nursing home, said folks double-park their cars for about five or 10 minutes.

“It’s very busy all the time,” he said.

“Sometimes there’s no parking out here.”

A former employee, Cathy Somma, of Westerleigh, who was visiting her mother on Monday, said she worked at the facility for 21 years and that parking lot privileges were taken from many employees a few years ago.

“I used to have to leave [home] an hour early to get a spot on the service road to avoid problems with residents,” said Ms. Somma, adding that between 2:30 and 3 p.m., people line up for spots occupied by workers on an earlier shift.

Several employees who have been at the facility for more than 10 years commented on the issue but asked for anonymity, adding they didn’t want to risk being disciplined by their employer.

“It’s hard. The parking lot is for visitors.

“Sometimes we need to park two or three blocks away,” said one longtime worker who said he was “extremely lucky” to snag a spot near the facility’s entrance.

The person grabbed the spot at least 30 minutes before the next shift began at 3 p.m.

“We come here because we know that other people are leaving,” another worker said, noting they prefer to park close to the facility because their shifts end at midnight.

The person said employees worry about being robbed late at night.

“It’s dangerous at night.”

Employees said it would be nice to get back into the parking lot, where upper-level staff members are permitted to park their cars.

One employee believes management has no respect for its workers. Some workers have had their cars towed for parking in the lot, they said.

“We know better than to go in there,” said one.

Jane Harris, Clove Lakes’ director of public relations, said tows have taken place, but only for folks parked in spots strictly designated and marked for people in the outpatient program. It applied to everyone, including employees, she said.

Visitors, the site’s medical director and doctors are permitted to use the lot, said Ms. Harris, noting that when the change was made, all shifts were addressed and several meetings occurred.

“To tell you the truth, the visitors to our residence are many times elderly themselves.

“We’re on the bottom of a hill. It was hard for them to walk back up the hill if they parked there,” said Ms. Harris.

She added the facility looked into the parking issues stated by residents prior to Ms. Brown’s complaint in the paper.

According to Ms. Harris, the NYPD told her motorists can be ticketed if they’re double-parked longer than three minutes.

“We respect our neighbors and want to be neighborly, but unfortunately we don’t have control of what [employees] do in their own cars on a public street,” she said.

An additional parking lot sandwiched between the facility and nearby shops along Manor Road has 40 spots, said Ms. Harris, including spots for the disabled.